Pre-Opening Executive Chef April 2025 – September 2025
MGallery Green Coast, Vlorë, Albania (Accor)
- Led full pre-opening culinary operations for a new MGallery boutique property, including kitchen layout design, menu development, and brand storytelling concepts.
- Developed a Mediterranean culinary concept rooted in Albanian terroir, sourcing ingredients exclusively from regional producers.
- Recruited, trained, and structured a new kitchen brigade from the ground up to support property launch.
- Delivered a guest experience aligned with MGallery's signature Storytellers brand positioning.
Executive Chef – Pre-Opening & Post-Opening January 2023 – April 2025
Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
- Took a full-service luxury urban hotel from blank floorplan to fully operational culinary department, completing pre-opening ahead of schedule.
- Designed multi-outlet menus across fine dining, all-day dining, and banqueting to compete with Cairo's top hotel addresses.
- Built and led a kitchen brigade of 50+ chefs; implemented training frameworks that sustained quality through rapid post-opening scale-up.
- Maintained consistent culinary quality standards across all outlets during high-volume growth phase.
Culinary Consultant March 2022 – January 2023
LH&V Hospitality, Croatia
- Revitalized the culinary program for an underperforming boutique hospitality portfolio.
- Introduced a zero-waste kitchen model that reduced food costs and strengthened the property's sustainability positioning.
- Designed an accelerated training curriculum that raised the technical skill level of the kitchen brigade.
- Earned Michelin Plate recognition for menu innovation and sustainable kitchen practices (2022).
Executive Chef March 2021 – March 2022
Lazure Boutique Hotel, Montenegro
- Held creative and operational ownership of four distinct dining concepts (fine dining, casual, pool, and events) under one roof.
- Contributed culinary strategy and F&B standards to the hotel's 200-room expansion project.
- Achieved a 3% reduction in food cost through menu engineering and procurement optimization.
Pre-Opening Executive Chef August 2018 – January 2020
Marriott Hotel, Russia
- Led the property to market leadership, achieving recognition as the city's top hotel dining destination shortly after opening.
- Built the kitchen brigade from scratch: recruited, interviewed, and onboarded the full culinary team across all outlets.
Executive Chef October 2017 – August 2018
Crowne Plaza, IHG, Bangkok, Thailand
- Achieved 91% guest satisfaction scores across all F&B outlets at a premium IHG business hotel.
- Created an Asian-European fusion dining program that became a key competitive differentiator in Bangkok's luxury hotel market.
Pre-Opening Executive Chef March 2016 – October 2017
Crowne Plaza, IHG, Vientiane, Laos
- Delivered a full pre-opening for a complex multi-outlet luxury property with 600-guest banqueting capability.
- Established HACCP-compliant SOPs that achieved international certification, later adopted as a standard by other properties in the country.
Executive Sous Chef February 2014 – March 2016
Marriott Hotels, Doha, Qatar
- Supported culinary operations for one of Doha's flagship luxury hotels, consistently meeting revenue and guest satisfaction KPIs.
- Developed early expertise in cost management and menu engineering within a high-volume, high-expectation environment.
Career Highlights
- 7 hotel pre-openings delivered across Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Accor, and independent boutique brands.
- Culinary leadership experience across 10+ countries, including Egypt, Thailand, Laos, Qatar, Montenegro, Croatia, Russia, and Albania.
- Michelin Plate recognition for menu innovation and sustainable kitchen practices (Croatia, 2022).
- Consistent performance results: up to 20% productivity gains, 91% guest satisfaction, and 3% food cost reduction.
- Built and led kitchen brigades ranging from 10 to 50+ chefs in high-pressure luxury hospitality environments.
- Recognized as a pioneer of zero-waste culinary programs within boutique hospitality.
